GlaxoSmithKline Drops On Cancer Vaccine Trial Failure

By Dimitra DeFotis

Glaxo said the vaccine, called MAGE-A3, didn’t increase the length of time melanoma patients lived without the disease returning. The 1,345 trial patients received the vaccine or placebo after tumors were surgically removed. Still, the cancer vaccine field is a competitive one, and Glaxo said it will continue trials in patients with certain genetic profiles.

There are two cancer vaccines on the market: Provenge, a prostate-cancer treatment from Seattle-based Dendreon (DNDN), and Yervoy, a melanoma treatment from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), according to Dow Jones Newswires. In May, Roche Holding (RHHBY) said its experimental cancer vaccine, called MPDL3280A, shrank tumors in 21% of 140 patients participating in a trial. It is now performing tests in lung cancer patients.

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